Lawmakers said yesterday they have passed a motion calling on the government to set up an independent commission to "seek the truth" behind its handling of the SARS outbreak and to find out who, if anyone, should be held responsible.
In a rare move, pro-Beijing legislators, who usually support the government, backed the motion moved on Friday by Yeung Sum, head of the territory's biggest opposition party.
Critics have blasted officials for reacting too slowly to the outbreak and Hong Kong's political leader, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed a panel of international experts on Wednesday to review the government's response and find ways to better prepare for future disease outbreaks.
But legislators questioned whether it was appropriate for Dr. Yeoh Eng-kiong, the Hong Kong health secretary, to head the panel and demanded an independent commission be set up to look into the issue.
"We think the experts' panel is not independent. How can Yeoh Eng-kiong review whether he should be held responsible himself?" independent lawmaker, Dr. Lo Wing-lok, who represents the medical sector, said by telephone yesterday.
"He clearly has a conflict of interest. We can't accept him to chair the panel," said Yeung, chairman of the Democratic Party.
"We think an independent committee is needed to seek the truth. Apart from reviewing the incident, we need to find out who should take responsibility," he said.
Tung had said the panel -- with experts from Britain, the US, Australia, Hong Kong and China -- will complete its report by September.
Yeung said they are calling for an independent committee to be established in October.
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